I'm not meaning to sound like a warthog or anything, but even paying an extra $20 on top of what I've paid for....I dunno. You would think that maybe some of us who have actually bought the full versions in the past would get a better deal and maybe a wee bit of service. (and yes, I tend to miss the snakes due to the fact that I just might not be as computer savy as the rest of you, and clicking on Spydaz' link seems to put me in a directory of fun things..but nothing that jumps out and says "Upgrade".
BTW, I went and re-installed Ultra Hal 4.0...first thing it said was that there was an upgrade to the system and that I can download the demo (and it kindly brought up the demo page).
Demos are nice, but I really abhor shareware...I much prefer full programs over "demos". My guess is...is the upgrade worth $20? I dunno. Hal's fun, if not a bit confusing. As he is now he's a bit buggy on my system. I did go to Verbot and downloaded their newest version ($10), and I'm pleased with it. It was rather nice seeing Ka again.
I guess that some things are pretty much the same. Don't get me wrong, I think Hal's a fine product..or at least has the potential of being so. I understand that Zabaware is a small company and can only do so much. But I also understand that I downloaded the demo years ago and was impressed, so I bought the product (complete with the excuse that they were ironing out the problems), then I bought the newest version (still working on the problems, but now we have more faces to play with!), and now....faith only goes so far! And it doesn't help if you have to play easter-egg hunt to find the upgrades (even Microsoft has a "click here to view the latest upgrades" site, and we all know how hard it is to get any help from them!)
Forgive me if I sound like the typical irate customer (and no, I don't mean shoot at the messenger, sorry Art) but maybe Zabaware can strive for a bit more professionalism.
Sooooo, it's gonna cost me an extra $20 to find out if it's gonna finally work as expected...sigh....I feel like the guy who bought a car..then when it was delivered I find out it had no wheels..so I had to go buy wheels for it...only to discover that they kinda left the engine out, and if I want an Engine I'll have to order one....just worried now that the transmission might not be included. All I know is that this had best be a pretty good car when it's finished, lol!
Hint, guys, please make it easier. I'd love nothing better than to be able to suggest this product to others and say, "Yeah, man, it's really cool...it remembers things like an address book, and reminds ya when you have an appointment and things" (I still haven't gotten it to remember my wife's birthday correctly yet). I know..I know...you get what ya paid for. Well..at this rate I'm not so sure anymore.
Thanks for your help guys. If anyone else has any suggestions I'm all ears. I'll do some more research and stuff...I really don't wanna have to throw good money after bad just to satisfy a curiousity. Let's face it, when I shelved Hal back when I upgraded to Win Me due to the lack of support at the time, I was quite able to get along without him. He's a novelty item at best, on par with Verbots (although the Verbot people have made quite a few improvements over old Hal recently). I wish I could say he's lived up to expectations in the past but I cannot, but I do see his potential and that's why I have invested what I have invested so far.
It's got game...and it'll be the closest I'm sure I'll ever come to any sort of artificial Intelligence (even if it's just GI-GO) I'll come across in my lifetime (is anyone else kinda miffed that the year 2000 came and went and we still don't have the jet packs and robots we were promised in popular sci fi? Lol!) But, It's not just $20..it'll just be making that +$60 I spent on him so far that much more noticable as money I spent on a product that still needs work. And, Like a fool, I'll probably do it..and be back again next year complaining again...sigh....
